A Piece of Happiness
by Seito
Summary: (Sasunaru) Everyone is entitled to a bit of happiness, even a ninja.("Sasuke, are you happy with the fact that you’re marrying Sakura?”“Yes.”“Liar,”


Mesa no own Naruto

Seito: Listing to Gackt's _Missing; Egao o misete_ while folding paper stars at night and reading the little note the translator of the song wrote, created this story as a result. The song doesn't fit the story completely so I didn't add it in, in case some of you don't want to read a songfic. So enjoy the story.

Oh and don't forget...

Everyone is entitled to a bit of happiness, even a ninja (-Chizu, _Usagi Yojimbo_)

&--------------------------------&

_A Piece of Happiness_

&-------------------------------&

-Egao o misete-

-_Show me your smile_-

&--------------------------------&

It was just announced. Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno were getting married. Sasuke had proposed to her yesterday evening... although I believe that it was Sakura who did the proposing. Oh well... there went my last chance to tell him that I love him. Yes, him. Not her. Him. I'm not talking about Sakura; I'm talking about Sasuke. Yes, Kami-sama, I love him. I've been over Sakura-chan for a while.

I find it extremely ironic how I used to accuse Sasuke of stealing my 'girl' when now, when I'm over her, Sakura steals my 'boy' love. Perhaps I should have told him. Too bad I'm coward, yeah, a coward who's too afraid to tell the truth, too afraid of rejection.

Sakura has grown over the years. It's been about ten years since we became team 7. Yet despite her growth, I believe she has yet to see behind the ice prince's mask, her and almost everyone else in this town. She has yet to see past my mask.

A ninja must be able to read what's underneath the underneath. Almost everyone failed that test. For years I've eluded explaining my red Chakra and the so-called demon locked within me. (Kyuubi and I are now on better terms. He's actually quite nice once you get to know him, but don't tell him that I told you that.)

Sasuke and I are more alike than we seem. We both wear masks to hide ourselves. Not many have been able to see pass our masks. Sasuke hides his emotions; I hide my true self. We are completely different, yet the same.

Too bad... I won't be able to tell him. Well, as long as he's happy.

&------------------------------------&

"Hey, Naruto!"

Naruto turned around, heading towards him was Ino. "Naruto! Have you heard? Sasuke and Sakura are getting married," Ino said excitedly.

Naruto nodded. He had heard. In fact it was the only thing he had heard all day. "It's about time they tie the knot," Ino said happily. Then she started to leave. "See you later Naruto. I got a few more errands to run."

Naruto nodded in goodbye, not really trusting his voice to work. Ino just had to come and remind him of his misery.

At the age of 22, Naruto had done a bit of growing over the past ten years. He grew taller and leaner. His face lost entirely its baby fat, but the scar whiskers remained. His voice had grown deeper and richer. There was uncanny resemblance between Naruto and the former fourth Hokage. It unnerved the old people of the village. As a shinobi, Naruto have grown in both strength and knowledge. It had been a while since the once loud mouthed boy became a Jounin. With each new step he took, Naruto walked closer and closer to his dream of becoming Hokage. His strength and determination inspired many other shinobi. There was just one thing Naruto wanted (other than being Hokage) and that was Sasuke.

But it seems that would never be...

When Naruto heard the rumors about his friends getting married, he didn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. So he headed over to Sakura's house to confirm it. The rumors had been true. Shell-shocked, Naruto somehow managed to congratulate his friend. Sakura, of course, smiled and said "Thank you". Then she went on about how she would plan her wedding, never noticing that Naruto wasn't exactly pay attention to her rambling. It was obvious that Sakura had no idea what kind of feelings Naruto had for her fiancé.

Now Naruto was walking around in a depressed mood that was very uncharacteristic of him.

He passed a chinese restaurant and wanting a small snack, he went in to see if he could buy a fortune cookie. Moments later, he was munching on the cookie as he continued his walk around Konoha. Naruto unfolded the piece of paper that held the fortune. He paused as he read the fortune. _It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all._

Normally Naruto would just crumble up the fortune and throw it away. This one, however, made him stop and think. 'Sasuke,' Naruto mused. A picture of the dark haired young man rose in Naruto's mind. Not wanting to dwell on lost chances any longer, Naruto pushed those thoughts out of his head.

Just as he passed the training fields, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "You looked kinda sad. Love problems?"

Naruto looked down. Tugging on his long pants, was a child no older than ten. The strange thing about her was her long ruby colored hair and pale pink/red eyes. Not really expecting to hear something like '_love problems?'_ from a child, Naruto almost dismissed it as a trick of his hearing. That was until he saw that look in the child eyes. That look that said the child was definitely wiser then she appeared.

"Umm... yeah I suppose you could say that," Naruto said hesitantly to the child. What was he supposed to say?

The child gave him a warm smile. "You're just like _oretsis_** (1)**I mean Onee-chan! She has love problems too!"

Naruto gave the child a warm smile. "I'm sure she does," he said with a smile. Most of the girls he knew had some sort of love problem. It was just that when he was younger that he never really noticed.

"Yeah, she always gets sad when people talk about it. She says that she never got a chance to tell him how she felt because he went somewhere far, far away and was never coming back," said the child. Naruto's eyes widened at the hidden meaning of the young girl's words.

"Chikyuu!"** (2)**

Naruto turned around to see another girl running towards him. 'I seem to be running into a lot of girls today,' he half joked to himself. This girl had sun-kissed brown hair and warm amethyst eyes.

"Sorry," the older girl apologized. "Chi can be a bit bothersome sometimes." Naruto looked down at the child (whom he now knew was Chikyuu. Chi, he assumed, was a nickname) gripping on his pants.

"That's okay," Naruto said. Chi suddenly let go of his pants and ran the older girl.

"Hotaru **(2)**," she said excitedly. "He's just like you. He's got love problems."

The older girl, Hotaru, winced slightly before turning to Naruto. Her smile turned into a sad one. "I take it my imouto was telling you about my love life." Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind," said Naruto. He scratched his head. "And I feel for your lost, if that's what Chi really meant by her words."

A wistful look appeared in Hotaru's eyes. "Ah well, it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. Besides it's never too late to tell someone you love him or her, even if they are dead. All that really matters is that my heart is content and that the one I love is happy. I don't have to end up with him, I just needed to tell him how I felt. What he chose is his choice and I'm happy if he's happy. My only regret is that I'll never be able to see him again until I pass on as well."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. That was a perfect way to describe how he was feeling and what he should do. He clasped his hands around Hotaru's ones and said, "Thank you! I just figured out what I need to do." Then he took off, not noticing Hotaru's stunned expression slowly fade into a happy one.

Just as Naruto was about to fade into the distance, Chi turned to her older sister. "_Oretsis _why did you tell him that? You normally don't give advice to mortals."

Hotaru just gave her little sister a knowing smile. "He just needed a little shove in the right direction. C'mon let's go home." A gust of wind blew, and suddenly both girls were gone.

Naruto was even more determined to find Sasuke now. Regardless of whether the young Uchiha hated him or not, or that Sasuke was already engaged, Naruto had to tell him the truth. No more hiding. The saying '_It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all'_, couldn't be any truer now. Beside he was entitled to a bit of happiness too.

&----------------&

Naruto found Sasuke training in the forest just at the outskirts of the village. Naruto called out to his crush. "Sasuke!"

The dark haired young man stopped his training and looked to see Naruto heading towards him. "What do you want, dobe," he asked.

Naruto felt a part of him swell in pride. Dobe. That was Sasuke's nickname for him. No one else in the village could call him that but Sasuke. It was one of the few things that he and Sasuke had built their friendship upon.

"Well first, I want to congratulate you on your engagement to Sakura," Naruto said as straight as possible. He prayed he wouldn't choke on his words. Naruto didn't miss the look of dying hope in Sasuke's eyes. Perhaps he did have a chance after all. Naruto hoped with all his heart this would work.

"Sasuke, are you happy?"

Sasuke froze, but didn't answer. Naruto frowned and pressed on. "Sasuke, are you happy with the fact that you're marrying Sakura?"

Sasuke remained silent. However, Naruto already knew the answer. He saw it as plain as day in those black orbs. Still, Sasuke's answer surprised him. "Yes."

Naruto blinked. "Liar," he accused. Sasuke shot him a glare, but Naruto was so used to them, they didn't faze him. 

"How would you know," questioned Sasuke. His tone was like a steel blade, sharp and ready to cut. Naruto knew though.

"The same way I've always known, Sasuke. The same way I see the small flickers of sadness at night. The same way I see the little light of happiness when we spar. The same way I see past your mask."

Sasuke looked surprised. For once his mask was broken and Naruto could see the emotions without having to read what lied behind. Continuing, Naruto asked once more, "Are you happy Sasuke?"

There was a long silence. "How did you know?" Sasuke finally asked, breaking the silence. "How did you know that I wasn't happy with this?"

Naruto stared long and hard at his friend. Finally he plopped himself on the ground. "I could always tell. Your emotions, whether you like it or not, became an open book to me after that incident in Water Country with Haku, when you almost died for me. It became clearer and clearer as we grew older. Why do you think I tried so hard to stop you when you left Konoha in an attempt to ally with Orochimaru?"

Sasuke leaned against the tree, remembering the incident all too well. He didn't like to remember it... He made a mistake, a grave one. "Why do you do this to yourself, Sasuke," asked Naruto. That was one of the few things he didn't really understand about his teammate and friend. "Why force yourself to marry Sakura if you're not going to be happy with it?"

Sasuke knew the answer to that. It was the same answer he had given to everyone for over fifteen years. "For the revival of my clan," he said simply.

Naruto, of course, came up with a counter question. "Is the revival of your clan so important that you'll risk your own happiness for it?"

Sasuke didn't answer him. Once again Naruto brought up a good point. Still, it would be a shame to see such a powerful bloodline end. Of course, there was still his brother to consider. Who knows, maybe Itachi settled down, married and had kids to continue the Uchiha name.

&-------Somewhere-------& **(3)**

"Achoo!"

"Dear are you alright?" asked a white haired lady.

"Yeah. I think someone is talking about me."

"People talk about you everyday, Itachi-koi."

"I get a feeling it was my brother this time, Seika."

"Daddy!"

&-------------------------------&

"Why do you want to know if I'm happy," Sasuke finally asked.

Naruto stood up and walked over to where Sasuke was standing. Since Sasuke was leaning and Naruto was standing straight it appeared that Naruto was taller. Naruto pressed his hand into the tree trunk, right above Sasuke's head. His face leaned closer to Sasuke's. "Because," whispered Naruto, "I'm happy if you are happy."

Silence engulfed them as both contemplated their choices. "You're happy if I'm happy," repeated Sasuke.

"Yes."

Without another thought of hesitation, Sasuke firmly planted a kissed on Naruto's lips. Something he had wanted to do for so long. Naruto was glad to respond. Both were so wrapped up in their kiss, neither of them noticed a pair of pale pink/red eyes watching them.

"Chi! How many times must I tell to stop wandering off?"

Chi turned towards her sister. "Look, Hotaru. Their problems went bye-bye." Hotaru looked to see Naruto and Sasuke currently lip-locked in a kiss. She blinked once. Next to her, Chi giggled. "Were you and Kai like that, Onee-chan?"

Hotaru blushed a light shade of red. "C'mon Chi, let's leave the mortals alone."

"Okay," Chi said cheerfully. A gust of wind blew and she disappeared.

Just before she left, Hotaru turned back. 'Ah, so he made the decision. They just needed a little push in the right direction,' she mused. 'Behind the masks, therein lies thy true self.' The familiar quote rang in her head as she flew her wind return to her home. Let those mortals be. Everything was right in theirs. Perhaps it's time she set things right in hers.

&-----------&

Sasuke broke the news to Sakura that he would not be marrying her. The villagers who didn't know whether the rumor was real or not, passed the rumor off as a gossip and it eventually died down. To everyone else who knew that Sasuke and Sakura were originally engaged had to be told the reason why Sasuke suddenly declined, (in less then 24 hours.) Many of them took it better then Sasuke and Naruto thought.

While Sakura broke down in tears, it appeared many of them (especially Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei) were actually waiting for Naruto and Sasuke to tell them that they were together. Finally the confusion was gone and everything was set straight. Sakura and Sasuke were NOT getting married and Sasuke and Naruto were now going out.

"So you're happy if I'm happy," Sasuke asked for the third time today.

"My heart is content and as long as the one I love is happy, I am happy," said Naruto, quoting Hotaru. He leaned over to steal another kiss from Sasuke. "Aishiteru Sasuke," he whispered when he broke the kiss.

The same words and a soft smile was his only answer.

&--------------------_owari_------------------&

**(1) **Literally means Older Sister. Retsis is Sister backwards. The O in front of it means Older. The same would go if you wrote Yretsis. It would mean Younger Sister. The Y is for younger. It's apart of the language Chi and Hotaru speaks. See next footnote for more info.

**(2) **Chi and Hotaru. For those of you who read The La/-/er and mine's _Without Life _story you know who Hotaru is. Chi is Hotaru's foster sister. If you're not a careful reader (or are one) both Hotaru and Chi are not mortals. (I don't think they even fall in the boundary of human) They're immortals... so to speak. Despite what you read, Chi is not a ten-year girl. (Try a few thousands years old at the least)

**(3)** Don't take that literally. It's a joke. (Seika: I can't believe you did that). The only reason why you see it is to poke fun at my muse. If you read my '_Kagau waku wa hana no shita ni te' _you know what I mean. –wink-

Seito: That's it for now! Hoped you enjoyed!

(A note from her beta-reader: The La/-/er- If you read the FMA story, _Paper Stars_, you've already seen this. This is my public Beta-reader announcement to tell you writers not to write at 1 in the morning unless you are used to it. If you have 'em, it's hell on your beta-readers. Missing words and typos and spelling mistakes. Thankfully, the good story made up for it, it was all technical errors anyway, so I ask you to review and tell her what you thought. Wasn't it a good story? Ne? Ne!?) Seito: Listen to my beta. What she says is true. DO NOT WRITE AT ONE IN THE MORNING!!!

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


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